Two fatalities

Question of guilt after tragic streetcar accidents in Graz

On September 3, a man lost his life after an accident with a streetcar on the main square in Graz.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

A boy and a man recently lost their lives in streetcar accidents in Graz - now the question of who is to blame is being raised. Holding supports drivers in dealing with the tragedies. 

Two fatal streetcar accidents in Graz within a few weeks: On August 7, a seven-year-old boy was run over by a streetcar at the Steyrergasse stop, he died a few days later in the LKH - and on September 3, a 37-year-old man fell into a departing tram on line 5 at Hauptplatz, came under the wheels and died on the spot.

Several accidents per month
Of course, after such tragic accidents, the question of blame is quickly raised. "Our streetcars are involved in accidents several times a month, fortunately in most cases nothing serious happens. However, the reason is almost always the behavior of other road users," emphasizes Gerald Zaczek-Pichler, Group spokesman for Holding Graz.

Holding works council member Manuel Lenartitsch can also confirm this: "Unfortunately, people are increasingly distracted by cell phones or headphones - and there is also a general increase in recklessness in road traffic." However, this is not a good idea, especially on a streetcar. "Once the streetcar starts moving, the driver has no chance of stopping in time," says Lenartitsch, himself a trained bus driver.

The speed limit for streetcars at Jakominiplatz is 15 km/h.(Bild: Wulf Scherbichler)

Mitigation through new routing
The entire inner city area is already considered a high safety zone by the 259 streetcar drivers in Graz (71 women). A maximum speed limit of 15 km/h therefore applies in Murgasse and Jakominiplatz. With the commissioning of the relief route via Neutorgasse, it is hoped that the potential danger will be minimized in future. "The new Alstom streetcars also have a camera-based assistance system for this purpose," explains Zaczek-Pichler.

"The colleagues affected can contact our internal crisis management team and are also supported by the crisis intervention team. There is also a coaching service."

Manuel Lenartitsch, Betriebsrat Holding Graz

Incidentally, the training for bus drivers takes one and a half to two months - plus ongoing further training. There is even weekly driver safety training for bus drivers.